Table 2

Average time on long-term opioid prescription for the management of musculoskeletal conditions among incident cases according to practice and patient’s characteristics (regular patients* aged 18+ years. Australia, 2012–2018)

	Time on long-term opioids among incident cases (days)
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Incident cases	5621	6647	7944	8652	9572	9958	5672
Median duration (95% CI)†	287 (266 to 308)	301 (281 to 321)	295 (279 to 311)	288 (272 to 304)	294 (281 to 307)	229 (221 to 237)	140 (135 to 145)
Practice characteristics‡
State
NSW	266	299	308	273	292	210	134
VIC	283	309	312	313	268	230	141
QLD	342	243	264	278	297	244	146
WA	294	288	281	333	336	246	141
TAS	339	367	205	367	292	241	138
SA	269	393	255	292	402	214	154
ACT	327	299	431	338	321	267	186
NT	249	683	261	206	237	116	108
Rurality
Major cities	301	327	288	309	290	221	137
Inner regional	309	313	319	290	316	234	142
Outer regional/Remote	242	243	310	309	284	240	148
IRSAD quintile
Very high	203	214	244	203	247	186	128
High	231	300	285	299	263	221	143
Middle	263	319	290	302	320	222	142
Low	393	341	361	341	293	259	145
Very low	349	346	322	355	333	251	141
Patient’s characteristics§
Gender
Male	278	272	272	259	271	211	137
Female	311	349	329	336	323	238	143
Age (years)
18–34	230	361	276	363	247	233	147
35–49	335	361	345	327	350	257	154
50–64	299	337	320	293	306	221	142
65–79	278	257	277	279	242	203	132
80+	336	371	326	336	379	249	143
Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander
No	302	319	308	303	303	224	139
Yes	442	376	415	405	381	274	158
Not recorded	245	315	278	296	279	232	146
IRSAD quintile
Very high	238	287	236	268	277	230	127
High	249	315	258	296	292	218	140
Middle	278	315	306	297	319	233	139
Low	358	333	360	323	303	216	134
Very low	343	337	343	330	308	232	159

*At least three consultations in any two consecutive years from 2012 to 2018.
†Values in parentheses represent the 95% CIs of the median time on opioids. The corresponding interquartile range values are 2012=91–1177; 2013=98–1214; 2014=98–1145; 2015=94–989; 2016=97–759; 2017=91–474; 2018=78–255.
‡Quantile regression models with all practice characteristics mutually adjusted. Values in ‘bold’ represent those associations with a p value <0.01.
§Quantile regression models with all patient characteristics mutually adjusted+adjustment for practice characteristics. Values in ‘bold’ represent those associations with a p value <0.01.
ACT, Australian Capital Territory; IRSAD, Index of Relative Socioeconomic Advantage and Disadvantage; MSK, musculoskeletal condition; NSW, New South Wales; NT, Northern Territory; QLD, Queensland; SA, South Australia; TAS, Tasmania; VIC, Victoria; WA, Western Australia.